Automatic dam



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. L. MARSHALL.

Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

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AUTOMATIC DAM, WEIR, 0R GATE.

WITNESSTES:

(No Model. 2 SheetsSheet- 2. W. L. MARSHALL.

AUTOMATIC DAM, WEIR, 0R" GATE. No. 596,074 Patented Dec. 28,1897.

11 1 2 ivrr/ 4 @W// 9 WITNESSES: INVENTO NHED STATES WILLIAM L. MARSHALL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC DAM, WEIR, 0R GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,074, dated December 28, 1897- Application filed April 26, 1897. Serial No. 633,927. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. lVlARSHALL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Dam, Weir, or Gate, of which the following is a full,clear,and exact description.

The object of the invention is to so improve the dam or gate known as the original beartrap, devised and invented by Josiah White, that it shall preserve the advantages of that gate due to its disconnected or separate leaves, while at the same time the possible height of crest above the foundation relative to the width of base or development of leaves of said dam or gate shall be increased; also, to so improve the known means of admitting and withdrawing water to and from the hydraulic chamber of the dam that twisting or warping of the leaves may be avoided or controlled, thus making long continuous dams possible; also, to so restrain the motions of the downstream leaf by water-brakes as to prevent anything like a ramming action when the gate is brought to its fully-raised position, but instead to gradually stop the upward motion of the gate without the possibility of carrying away the fastenings of the lower leaf.

The invention is designed to secure the smooth surfaces for passage of drift, and all the advantages of separate leaves, and also the advantages of jointed leaves, without incurring the disadvantages common to hydraulic dams with their leaves hinged together at the crest of the dam, which construction involves in most hinged-leaf dams four parallel axes of rotation, which are difficult to practically construct.

The invention consists in a dam or gate of two disconnected leaves hinged to the foundation, the downstream leaf having attached upstream leaf, and in adjustable telescoping tie-rods, some or all of which are provided each with a cylinder and piston or plunger attached to the downstream leaf and to the foundation, which constitute hydraulic brakes and which are brought into play just before the toe of the shoe or toggle-leaf strikes the quoin or stop to bring the gate gradually to rest without allowing shock to gate, stops, quoins, fastenings, or toggle-joint.

The invention further embraces an arrangement of conduits and valves and amode of operating the same by which the supply and exit of water and the resulting pressures within the hydraulic chamber may be differentiated, directed, and controlled in such manner that the movements of the gate may be made uniform by the application of adequate pressures at the points requiring them, by varying the amounts of water under pressure and rates of supply to and from various parts of the hydraulic chamber, thus producing equal or unequal pressures at will over different parts of the hydraulic chamber throughout its extent.

Equal and uniform motions of the gate are continued by equal and uniform supply and withdrawal of water under it, and unequal movements of the gate are corrected by the application of correspondingly unequal pressures at the proper points of the hydraulic chamber. This is effected by the special arrangements of conduits, orifices, and valves, by which the hydraulic chamber is divided into aliquot parts by imaginary planes at right angles to the crest, each such part being served by its own conduit communicating at each end through a valve with a vestibule or chamber common to all conduits, which vestibules are capable of being made part of upper or lower pools, either or both. When all such conduits are put in communication with the upper or lower pool, the other pool being shut off from the vestibules, water will move uniformly into or from the hydraulic chamber throughout. One or more of the conduits can now be shut off from the vestibules at one or both ends of the conduit, and the movement of the water into or from the hydraulic chamber will then become unequal and the pressures correspondingly unequal, or the vestibules and conduits may be served so that one vestibule may form part of or be in connection with the upper pool and the other vestibule with the lower pool. All or any of the conduits may in this case be put in communication with either pool, the other end of the conduit being restricted or closed by its valve, and, again, the pressures may be made uniform or varied throughout the hydraulic chamber.

The drawings show the hydraulic chamber divided by imaginary planes into three aliquot parts supplied by three conduits, each capable of independent connection with the vestibules and through them with the upper and lower pools; but the chamber may be divided into any suitable number of such aliquot parts, and the conduits may be correspondingly increased in number. This arrangementis suggested by the observed and well-known fact that the movements of the gate are dependent upon the actual transfer of matter in contact with it, which matter (water) moves the gate by pressures, in part locally, due to boils, impact, waves, or undulations proceeding from near the orifices of ingress or egress in the hydraulic chamber, to more remote parts of said chamber, in consequence of which the parts of the gate nearest these orifices move more rapidly under the influence of the flow of water through them than more remote parts, and the gate is thereby twisted or warped.

Heretofore efforts have been directed toward so distributing the orifices of supply and exit as to uniformly supply water to the hydraulic chamber in order to equalize or make uniform the lifting and lowering pressures over equal surfaces of the gate; but it is shown in practice that unequal resistances to motion-such as in friction, in variations of weight, and in wedging and binding-still cause gates to warp and twist with such arrangements as just mentioned. They are therefore found inadequate.

My invention furnishes the means and gives the method of varying the pressures and utilizing the boils, waves, or undulations named to work against varying resistances in order that the motions of the gate may be made uniform and regular under all conditions to be met in practice.

The conduits may lead in from each end of the gate, because by allowinginflow and outflow at both ends simultaneously the capacities of the conduits may be doubled, and the arrangement of separate conduits affords facilities for flushing or scouring out each separate conduit in succession or separately without materiallydisturbing the stability of the dam. This is apparent from the draw ings, for by placing the vestibules one in connection with the upper level, while the other communicates with the lower level, any one of the conduits may be placed in communica tion with the lower level and a current sent through it, all conduits being at the same time in communication with the upper level, thus supplying a vastly greater quantity of water than the amount withdrawn. Also in the drawings the shoe or toggle-leaf is shown of the Width necessary to allow the leaves to move under the influence of pressure and friction when the heel and toe of the shoe are in contact with the under side of the upstream leaf, and at the same time give an angle of ninety degrees between the leaves when at full height; but this shoe may be increased in width and the angle still further reduced. It may also be made of any suitable material and slide instead of move on rollers.

The invention also consists in certain new and useful parts, arrangements, combinations, and details necessary or advisable for the successful operation of the invention, as hereinafter shown and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, corresponding letters of reference relating to similar parts in all drawings.

Figurel is a plan showing part of the gate omitted and the arrangement of the foundation and filling and emptying conduits, valves, and chambers or vestibules. Fig. 2 is a section of the gate and foundation, showing dam or gate fully raised. Fig. 3 is a section of the gate, showing the position of the gate when the toe of the toggle-leaf or shoe first engages in the quoin or stop at top of upstream leaf and when the hydraulic brakes are just cominginto action. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of the toggle-leaf or shoe, of which Fig. 5 is the enlarged plan. Figs. (5, 6, 6 and 6 are details of the adjustable telescoping tie-rods and hydraulic, brakes.

The upper leaf A and lower leaf A are hinged to the foundation at a and a, and the lower leaf supported against the water pressure by the tie-rod B, attached to the foundation at a and to the lower leaf at a. This tie-rod is adjustable in length by the nuts a a and consists in the rod 1, having a plunger p,with its head a sliding along and guided by the slide-bars t F, constituting part of the rod. At the upper end of this turnbuckle and slide-bars is a cylindrical cup or chamber 1), into and out of which the plunger 1') is pressed at the final upward and initial downward motion of the gate, which cup, in c011- nection with the plun gerp, constitutes a water brake or buffer, from which water can be pressed as the gate rises only so rapidly as it can escape through the continually-decreasing-in-area slot 0, cut into said plunger.

At the top or free edge of the upstream leaf and on the under side of it is the quoin or stop Q, which may be of metal or wood and either continuous or simply a series of hooks. At the top or free edge of the downstream leaf is a shoe or toggle-leaf S, hinged to the leaf at a the upper part of which shoe or toggle-leaf is solid, forminga supplementary narrow leaf in continuation of the lower leaf. The heel of the shoe R keeps the bottom of the shoe under the influence of pressure on said shoe constantly in contact with the under side of the upper leaf. The shoe is supported on antifriction-rollers R R until the dam or gate in rising takes the position shown in Fig. In further rising the shoe rotates, its bottom leaving the under side of upstream leaf A and rises on its toe at Q, thus push- (dotted) in Fig. 2.

A is an apron attached to upstream leaf and covering the shoe and resting on the downstream leaf to exclude small bodies from this angle and to give a smooth surface for the passage of drift. This is an ordinary and well-known device, which constitutes no part of this invention further than it relates to this particular form of dam or in combination.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, which shows the plan of the dam and arrangement 'of the foundation and operating-conduits,

O O are chambers or vestibules at each end of the dam, communicating through valves V V with upperlevel and through valves V V with lower levels. Entering these chambers are continuous conduits O C C for the supply and exit of water to and from the hydraulic chamber 01' space under the leaves of the dam. Each of these conduits O C 0 &c., communicates with an aliquot part of the hydraulic chamber through smaller orifices, openings,or conduits c c c, &c., c 0 c &c., and c 0 0 &c., the total capacity of each set 0 c c, &c., being not less than the capacity at any crosssection of the corresponding conduit supplying them nor more than twice this capacity. In this latter (extreme) case each conduit 0, &c. can, by operating it from both ends, supply to or withdraw from the hydraulic chamber a quantity of water determined by twice its capacity at any cross-section.

The conduits C (3 0 &c., are controlled independently of each other by the valves V V V 850., so that Water may be admitted or withdrawn to the part of the hydraulic chamber supplied by this conduit independently of the other conduits or parts of hydraulic chamber.

The invention is operated substantially as other bear-trap dams by admitting water under the leaves of the gates with sufficient heador pressure to push up the lower leaf, thus raising the upper leaf and dam against the pressure of the water in the upper pool and lowered by withdrawing water from under the leaves, allowing the weight of the gates, aided by the pressure of the water in the upper pool on the upperleaf, to depress it; but in the prototype of this class of dams the angle made between the two leaves of the dam when at full height must exceed ninety degrees by at least the angle of friction, which depends on the material of which the leaves are constructed. If of wood onwood, this angle exceeds one hundred and ten degrees for sliding friction and is less for rolling friction and also somewhat less for metals. This fact necessitates wide leaves and a width between foundation-hinges not less than approximately three times the height of the dam above its foundation. In the proposed device the angle between the leaves may be reduced to ninety degrees or less, while at the same time the dam may be much more sensitive or require less head of water to raise it, due to the exposure of a wider extent of the upper leaf to back pressure, than in the known form with separate leaves. The width of the leaves may be materially reduced and the width of foundation reduced to twice or less instead of three times or more the height of the dam.

When water under sufficient pressure is admitted to the hydraulic chamber through the conduits O 0 C the dam will start up. If this motion is even and equal, it may be continued; but if one part of the gate rises more rapidly than another that conduit supplying water for this part may be shut off from the upper pool or, when necessary, put in connection with the lower pool through the opposite vestibule, while the inflow continues through the other or others under the lagging parts until the twisting or warping of the dam is corrected. During the rise of the gate the shoe or toggle-leaf rolls or slides along the under surface of the upstream leaf. until the toe is engaged in the quoin or stops Q, Fig. 8, just before which time the motion of the lower leaf is checked by the action of the hydraulic brake B. Upon further admission of water under head the contents of the brake are more or less slowly pressed out of the brake and the shoe is gradually rotated about the upper edge of the lower leaf, thus pushing the upper leaf higher until the lower leaf arrives at the full height allowed by the telescoping tie-rod and brake B without any shock to any part of the system. The dam is lowered by operations the opposite or reverse of those just described.

Since in rising and falling the efficiency of the gate is dependent upon the two leaves remaining in contact at the shoe or toggle-leaf, it is evident to prevent undue escape of water fromthe hydraulic chamber that in constructin g the dam it is advantageous to make the upstream leaf of materially greater specific gravity than water and the downstream leaf of less specific gravity than water, the weights of the combination at the same time being so adjusted that the mean specific gravity of the gate shall be greater than that of water, so that it will fall to the bottom of the sluiceway when submerged and the water allowed to escape under the influence of the combined weights of the leaves. By this construction the downstream leaf by floatation when submerged and by the action of water under pressure upon its less weight when above the lower level will always be kept in contact at the shoe with the under surface of the upstream leaf and the hydraulic chamber be always kept closed, except through the conduits.

, The valves may be operated by hand or be hydraulic or automatic, but controllable,as indicated in my application, Serial No. 627,967, and if no available initial head exists to raise the gate it may be provided in the same man ner as indicated in that application.

It is evident that the shoe or toggle-leaf is also applicable to the inverted beartrap dams shown in said application in Figs. 1, 2, and 5; but it is not a ver 1 valuable improvement for inverted bear-trap dams.

The drawings forming a part of this specification show the combined tie -rods and brakes B in such manner as not to interfere with the representation of other parts of the gate; butthe angle between said tie-rods, (be. and the downstream leaf in practice would be more nearly a right angle than it is represented to be (for clearness only) on the drawings.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a bear-trap dam or gate having two leaves detached from each other, but attached to foundation, each leaf along an edge, a toggle-leaf or shoe in contact with the upstream leaf, and in continuation of the downstream leaf, attached to and rotating about the free edge of said downstream leaf, substantially as specified.

2. A movable automatic dam, gate or weir, comprising detached upstream and downstream leaves, a toggle-leaf or shoe in continuation of said downstream leaf at its free edge and a quoin or stop attached to said upstream leaf at or near the free edge thereof to engage with the toe of said toggle-leaf or shoe to rotate the same, substantially as described.

A movable automatic dam, gate or weir comprising detached upstream and clownstream leaves, a rotating toggle-leaf or shoe in continuation of said downstream leaf, a quoin or stop on the under side of said upstream leaf at or near its free edge, and a drift shield or cover attached to said upstream leaf along its free edge and extending over said toggle-leaf or shoe substantially as described.

i. In combination, an automatic dam, gate or weir, with two leaves, and telescoping tierods attached to foundation and downstream leaf of said dam, gate or weir, to limit the motion of said downstream leaf, substantially as described.

5. A movable dam, gate or weir, with two leaves, limited in its motion, and height by telescoping tie-rods attached to said dam, gate or weir, and to the foundation thereof, sub stantially as specified.

(J. In combination a movable (lam, gate or weir with two leaves, and automatic hydraulic brakes attached to said dam or gate, and foundation, regulating, restraining and limiting the rise of said dam, gate or weir, substantially as specified.

7. I11 combination, a movable dam, gate or weir, with two leaves, telescoping tie-rods, and hydraulic brakes regulating, restraining and limiting the rise of said dam, gate or weir, substantially as described.

8. In combination, a movable hydraulic dam, gate or weir, telescoping tension-rods adjustable in length, and hydraulic brakes forming part of said tension-rods attached to said dam or gate, regulating, restraining and limiting the rise of said dam or gate, substantially as described.

9. In combination, a movable dam or gate with two leaves, a toggle-leaf or shoe in continuation of the downstream leaf, a quoin or stop on under side of the upstream leaf at top thereof, and telescoping tie-rods and brakes attached to downstream leaf and foundation of said dam or gate, substantially as described.

10. In combination, a movable dam or gate of the class specified, a continuous hydraulic chamber subdivided into aliquot parts by imaginary planes at right angles to crest of said dam, and a series of independent conduits each conduit of the series communicating with one such part of said chamber, and through valves at each end thereof, with upper and lower pools, (either, or both simultaneously,) by which combination the supply of water and resulting pressures within the hydraulic chamber may be directed and varied as maybe required by the resistances to motion, to make the gate or (1am move in such manner as to preserve a level crest in rising and falling, substantially as specified.

WILLIAM L. MARSHALL.

Witnesses:

HENRY J ERVEY, ALLAN STRALE. 

